It is well known that the burning of fossil fuels releases carbon and other pollutants into the air when burned, which directly contribute to climate change and pose a dire threat to wildlife, communities, and public health. Luckily, nonpolluting sources of energy can displace dirty fossil fuel use while offering a range of environmental and economic advantages. To avoid increasingly devastating impacts on wildlife and communities, we must take action through the support of clean energy tax credits and a strong Clean Power Plan to speed the transition to zero-carbon sources of energy.

Clean Energy Solutions

Wind, solar, and sustainable biomass present affordable, responsible clean energy opportunities we must invest in for the future of wildlife. All three can produce renewable, emission-free electricity that can help reduce air and water pollution and carbon emissions and slow climate change. Responsibly developed wind energy offers a substantial, economically feasible, and wildlife-friendly energy opportunity for America. Onshore wind power in the U.S. is already powering more than 15.5 million homes and offshore wind – which has yet to be tapped – is estimated to holdfour times the total annual U.S. energy demand!

Solar is another clean, abundant source of energy. Growing global demand for solar energy has led to the price of solar panels plunging 70% in the past 5 years. Sustainable biofuels and biomass can also be part of the solution. Biomass comes from fields, forests, industry and food processing, garbage, sewage, and animal manure. New techniques for growing and utilizing biomass resources make it a viable renewable fuel option for many parts of the U.S.

Recognizing that all types of energy development can have impacts on wildlife and habitat, wind turbines and solar panels must be responsibly developed and monitored to minimize impacts to wildlife and their habitat. For biomass to be sustainable and wildlife-friendly, it is necessary to maintain sustainable forest management that protects biodiversity and habitat values. Offshore wind can and must be developed with strong environmental protections in place, and NWF has played a leadership role in ensuring that happens, including securing a precedent setting agreement with the industry to protect endangered Right Whales off the Atlantic Coast.

Wildlife Depend on a Clean Energy Future!

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to the wildlife and wild places we cherish. If we don’t take decisive action now to reduce carbon pollution, one-third of all wildlife species will face increased risk of extinction within the next century. Changes to our climate are destroying critical wildlife habitat, causing habitat ranges to shift, increasing incidence of pests and invasive species, and decreasing availability of food and water. Just as important as how our climate is changing, is that it is changing so fast that species may not be able to adapt or relocate fast enough to more suitable areas. Unless we and our leaders take significant action now, climate change will become the greatest threat to wildlife this century.

The benefits of clean energy go beyond protecting wildlife from climate change. A movement towards clean energy will reduce numerous additional pollutants and harmful byproducts of fossil fuel power that are damaging to wildlife, their habitats, and our health. By moving away from dirty fuels like coal, clean energy sources will also help protect wildlife from coal mining practices that destroy habitat, toxic air and water pollution that poison fish and wildlife, and destructive water intake systems at power plants that pose a direct threat to numerous aquatic species. Additionally, oil and gas exploration and drilling are seriously affecting species like pronghorn, sage grouse, and mule deer who depend on sagebrush habitat.

Strong Clean Energy Policy Benefits Wildlife

The good news is, we can take action today to advance clean energy solutions that will protect wildlife and reduce pollution. While there is much positive momentum in wind development, this growing industry faces tough challenges in competing with heavily subsidized fossil fuels. Federal financial incentives such as the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) are vital to strengthening the foundation of the American wind industry. Unfortunately, Congress allowed both tax credits to expire, once again, in 2013. Congressmust act now to extend these critical taxincentives to continue expanding onshore andoffshore wind development and sustain this job-creating,wildlife-friendly clean energy industry inAmerica.

The Clean Power Plan (CPP) also presents a major opportunity to advance clean energy in America. The CPP is a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the first-ever limits on carbon pollution from our electric power sector. One of the solutions that states can use to reduce carbon emissions under the CPP is to increase reliance on clean energy sources. However, the EPA’s estimates about how much renewable energy states can deploy were very conservative, and even more can be achieved from clean, wildlife-friendly renewable energy. EPA must finalize the Clean Power Plan in a strong form that helps speed the transition to clean energy.

There is no question that wind farms have an impact on the landscape. But what if there was a way to mitigate the effects renewable development has on public lands, while identifying areas with low impact and high renewable energy potential?

The Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act does just that. Introduced by Sen. Jon Tester, with support from Senator Walsh and Representative Daines, along with most of the western delegation, the bill streamlines wind and solar permitting on public lands. The bill also creates a revenue share that is distributed between the state, county, and conservation projects in the region. As an organizer, I’m often asked what this means on the ground. What kind of restoration projects would get funded? How would it affect the surrounding region?

The list of habitat restoration, improvement, preservation, and access projects around the state of Montana is daunting. Many of these projects require multiple years of management and a long-term source of funding. An example of this is along the hi-line in northern Montana. In many areas along the hi-line, the prolific seeding of crested wheat grass has overlapped with sage grouse habitat. Although not considered an invasive species, crested wheat grass is a non-native species, and is typically used by land managers for soil stabilization and control over more invasive species. The same characteristics that make it a good choice for range managers create a mono-crop in the system, and can displace native species and reduce overall species diversity.

Photo by: John Gale (NWF Staff)

Historically the area had been prime sage grouse habitat, but decades of farming degraded much of the habitat from sage brush prairie to mono-crop grasslands. Sage grouse cannot thrive in homogeneous stands of a single plant species. Wildlife managers have started small scale sagebrush restoration projects, but there are thousands of acres that still need to be returned to a more diverse array of native grassland species.

Renewable energy on public land will not only help Montana reduce carbon emissions, but restore and maintain public lands, create jobs, and ensure our energy security into the future.

Take Action!

Please urge your delegation to move this important piece of legislation forward towards a hearing. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senator’s office. Ask to speak to the member of the staff who works on environmental, agricultural or appropriations issues. Tell them you would like to see the Public Lands Renewable Development Act get the hearing it deserves!

About the Author

Hayley was recently hired by National Wildlife Federation to help organize smart development of renewable energy on public lands in Montana. She received her M.S. from University of Montana focusing on road ecology and wildlife habitat corridors. In her spare time she can usually be found outside, whether it be exploring the mountains on horseback or perfecting her cast on one of Montana’s many scenic rivers.

This week, Senator John Walsh signed on as co-sponsor of the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act (S. 279). This demonstrates several things to Montanans. First, Sen. Walsh supports smart development of renewable energy in our wind rich state. Montana is ranked 2nd for wind energy potential, which requires Montanans to be forward thinking and proactive in the way we regulate wind development.

Wind turbines on public lands. Photo by Nic Callero.

Second, Senator Walsh sees the importance and value of conserving and improving our public lands. Whether you hunt, fish, hike, or bike on public lands, the health of public lands and the wildlife that live there are vital for Montana recreation and businesses alike. A new poll, which surveyed more than 2,400 people across the west including Montana, demonstrates overwhelming bipartisan public support for preserving public lands for our children and future.

Photo by Tim McCabe, USDA.

The Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act (PLRED) is important to the outdoor community because of two simple words: conservation funding. Rarely is there enough in the pot to go around for important conservation projects. PLRED provides up to 35% of generated royalties to conservation funding. The fund will act much like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, with monies going to projects in the effected region and state. Funding could take shape as habitat restoration work, purchase of access easements to isolated blocks of public lands, or enhancing critical wildlife habitat or game corridors. There would be foresight and planning in identifying critical habitat, and would ensure proper mitigation was performed for impacts on the land during and after development.

Finally, it shows that Senator Walsh is willing to support bi-partisan legislation and work across the aisle on forward thinking legislation. In a time when stalemate is the name of the game, it is refreshing to have all of our Montana delegation in Washington DC supporting this bill. PLRED provides an excellent opportunity to pass bi-partisan legislation that helps maintain the integrity of public land throughout the west. Thank you Senator Walsh for co-sponsoring the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act; you have shown your commitment to Montana’s public land.

Speak up for Renewable Energy

About the Author

Hayley was recently hired by National Wildlife Federation to help organize smart development of renewable energy on public lands in Montana. She received her M.S. from University of Montana focusing on road ecology and wildlife habitat corridors. In her spare time she can usually be found outside, whether it be exploring the mountains on horseback or perfecting her cast on one of Montana’s many scenic rivers.

Dec 13- A national sportsmen’s coalition working for the balanced use of our public lands and the continuation of hunting, angling and other outdoor traditions wants to hear from youths on what public lands mean to them.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development is sponsoring an essay contest with the theme “the importance of public lands to me.” The contest is open to youths 15 to 19 years old. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 15. Five winners will receive an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of their congressional delegations and other officials.

“We hunters and anglers are the beneficiary.es of farsighted leaders and conservationists who realized the importance of conserving public lands for future generations. We are determined to keep the legacy alive and believe it’s crucial to encourage young people to explore our public lands and speak up for what is important to them,” said Brad Powell, senior policy director of the Sportsmen’s Conservation Project at Trout Unlimited.

Dec 11- With critical federal tax incentives set to expire on December 31, over 230 faith, conservation, and public health organizations; small businesses; and elected officials joined Environment America, the National Wildlife Federation, Conservation Law Foundation, and Southern Environmental Law Center Wednesday in a letter supporting swift, bold action by the Obama administration to facilitate the development of offshore wind power.

“Climate change is the single greatest threat to America’s wildlife this century and properly-sited offshore wind power is an essential part of the solution,” said Catherine Bowes, senior manager for climate and energy at the National Wildlife Federation. “Our ability to fight climate change and repower America with pollution-free energy hinges on bold action from our federal and state leaders. Congress must renew the offshore wind investment tax credit (ITC) immediately to jumpstart this critical new clean energy source for America.”

The polar bear population has declined 30 percent in the last 25 years, with many bears suffering significant weight loss and giving birth to fewer cubs. Can this trend be reversed? And are polar bears just the tip of the iceberg?

“Our coastal waters have some of the best offshore wind energy resources in the world, the technology to harvest it is advanced and operating at great scale in Europe, and we have workers ready to do the job. It’s time to get it done.”

Murphy said his best guess is that it will come out early next year. That would give the State Department enough time to address objections raised by critics, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to the draft released in March that found Keystone wouldn’t have a big impact on the climate, he said

“EPA needs to take immediate steps to produce regulations to directly reduce methane pollution from new and existing equipment from this industry,” the groups wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and EPA chief Gina McCarthy on Thursday.

The rapid development of woody biomass energy facilities in the Southeast U.S. has large implications for regional land cover and wildlife habitat, says a new study by three major Southern universities, released today by National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC).

Roger Di Selvestro points out how the Arctic ground squirrel is considered the champion hibernator of all time since it survives in one of the severest environments imaginable by essentially sleeping nine months out of the year. “It can survive for three weeks at a body temperature of 22 degrees F, a condition that would kill more southerly rodent hibernators in less than an hour.”

America’s top green radio show, the national weekly “Green is Good” program, which is now available to listeners nationwide via the “America’s Talk” lineup on iHeartRadio, has announced its “sustainability all-star” lineup of guests for the fall season.

The owner of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth may consider requesting an adjustment to the plant’s license that would allow the plant to draw warmer water from Cape Cod Bay than is currently allowed.

The ongoing heat wave forced Pilgrim to power down to 85 percent around noon Wednesday because the seawater from Cape Cod Bay, used to cool key systems, exceeded the maximum 75 degree temperature allowed under the plant’s license. The situation was a first in the plant’s 40-year history. [...]

The temperature of the seawater being drawn from the bay must be cool enough to remove heat from the nuclear reactor’s generating system and convert steam from the system back to liquid water. The ocean water, although warmer when it is discharged to the bay, must not be so warm that it affects the ecosystem.

Cape Cod Bay is home to an incredibly diverse range of birds, fish and wildlife. It’s habitat for the critically-endangered North Atlantic right whale, favorite sea mammals like seals and dolphins, shorebirds, and fish vital to both commercial and sport fishermen, from flounder to bluefin tuna to striped bass.

“Nobody ever predicted the water temperatures would go up this high in the Northeast when the plants were designed in the 1960s,” Nuclear Regulatory Council spokesman Neil Sheehan has said.

While New England has succeeded in weaning itself almost completely off of coal power, it remains far too dependent on natural gas and nuclear power. At this moment, New England is getting 74% of its power from gas and nuclear, with just 1% coming from wind energy.

A Homegrown Solution: Offshore Wind

Right now, America’s Atlantic Coast has not a single permanent offshore wind turbine. But America’s Atlantic Coast is home to some of the best offshore wind resources in the world, as the National Wildlife Federation detailed in our report last year, The Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy. Projects are moving forward off Cape Cod and off Block Island, and the federal government is on track to auction leases for development off a total of 5 states this year – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. This is exciting progress, but leadership from states along the coast is urgently needed to ensure that offshore wind power plays a major role in the region’s energy future.

“New England needs to diversify its energy sources and properly-sited and responsibly-developed offshore wind energy can protect wildlife, cut climate-disrupting carbon pollution, and create thousands of jobs,” says Catherine Bowes, senior manager for climate and energy at the National Wildlife Federation’s Northeast Regional Center. “Local, state and federal officials need to keep working make the golden opportunity of offshore wind a reality.”

And best of all for wildlife, a coalition of top conservation organizations and offshore wind developers have agreed to a series of voluntary measures that will protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, while helping to expedite responsible offshore wind development, in the Mid-Atlantic.

Ask Americans to name a major oil spill and you’ll hear about the Gulf oil disaster and the Exxon Valdez, maybe even Arkansas, the Kalamazoo River and the Yellowstone River. But two of America’s worst oil disasters took place off the southeast New England coast, now ground zero of a debate about America’s energy future. Will it be home to America’s next clean energy quantum leap, or will polluters succeed in keeping the oil flowing?

The National Wildlife Federation is joining the fight for offshore wind energy because we know the climate crisis is the biggest threat to America’s wildlife this century. Properly-sited, responsibly-developed offshore wind can cut our dependence on the dirty fuels that menace wildlife in its production, burning, and most visibly, in its transportation.

A Near-Miss & a Direct Hit

America’s 3rd-largest oil spill on record happened off Nantucket in 1976 when the tanker Argo Merchant ran aground, dumping 7.7 million gallons of fuel oil. Only favorable currents and weather conditions saved the New England coast from a horrific disaster, pushing the oil away from both the coast and key fishing grounds.

The area couldn’t avoid danger a second time in 2003, when the Bouchard 120 barge carrying oil for electricity generation ran aground off Buzzards Bay. It spilled 98,000 gallons of an especially thick, heavy type of oil, fouling fishing grounds for years to come, hurting an area already suffering from high unemployment. But the impacts on birds were even more severe. Hundreds of birds, many of them endangered, were killed in the spill.

“One species that was devastated by the spill was piping plovers, small shorebirds that breed along the Atlantic Coast on sand and gravel beaches,” reported Ariel Wittenberg of the New Bedford Standard Times on the recent 10th anniversary of the spill. “The birds were already endangered before the spill coated 85 percent of the Massachusetts population with oil. The spill also doubled the number of plover eggs that did not hatch that year.”

Turning to Clean Energy Solutions

Today, two projects in this same region are aiming to become America’s first offshore wind energy developments. Cape Wind is hoping to begin construction in a matter of months between Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Meanwhile, Deepwater Wind is looking to build several turbines off Rhode Island’s Block Island, which currently gets its electricity from diesel oil. Not only would the projects slash pollution and create hundreds of local jobs, but Block Island would see drastically lower electricity rates.

That’s why the National Wildlife Federation is speaking up for wildlife. Catherine Bowes, the National Wildlife Federation’s senior manager for new energy solutions, works to educate lawmakers in DC and up & down the Atlantic Coast on the best policies to develop wildlife-friendly offshore wind. As a resident of New Bedford, MA, I’ve testified at two local hearings in support of offshore wind. NWF has teamed up with dozens of national, state & local conservation groups to release our Turning Point report and partnered with offshore wind developers to protect endangered right whales.

Hope for the Future

I hope everyone in opposition to possible future wind farms and solar farms read the “Black Monday” story over and over and realize in their heart and mind that wind and solar farms will mean greener and better future for our children and grand children. I hope they read and realize that an oil spill can take place again anytime, anyplace. The longer we stay depending on oil, the more disasters we must face.

Some worry about spoiling the scenery from solar panels around them, while others study long-term effects from wind turbines. None could compare at all to the long-term effects such as the Bouchard oil spill.

We just don’t get it, do we? To get something in return, we must give something. With wind and solar farms as a solution, we won’t be giving up very much in comparison to oil tankers in the horizon, or smoke stacks in the sky. I would rather see solar panels in the fields, and wind turbines in the sky. Makes so much more sense.

Growing up on the East Coast, our town playground and basketball court were the extent of my understanding of public lands. Though our eastern states also have their fair share of state and federal forest land and park systems, my first experience with real public lands came during a cross country bicycle ride. I fell in love with the wide open spaces I didn’t have in my backyard back home.

On a bike it’s easy to see how much use we get out of our federal public lands—like the 285 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Hunting, fishing, hiking, all forms of energy development, ranching, off-road vehicle use, and incredible wildlife habitat to boot. Experiencing our Western public lands in person made me proud to live in America.

I’ve since learned more about the pressures our public lands are feeling, particularly from a rapidly changing climate and energy development decisions. National Wildlife Federation’s recent report, Wildlife in a Warming World, highlighted the impacts of increased drought, wildfire, and invasive species on big game, sagebrush habitat, and other sensitive wildlife

A Framework for Renewable Energy Development on Public Lands

So that gets us back to the bill introduced today by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and others. It creates the framework for more efficient, responsible renewable energy development on public lands and would strategically direct the revenue from development to pay back local communities, fish and wildlife resources, and hunting and angling access potentially impacted by this clean energy development.

It’s a win-win for clean energy and wildlife conservation and you heard it right in the intro—supported by Westerners from both parties. That’s cause for celebration in and of itself!

In 2009, our public lands had zero approved solar energy projects and very few wind energy projects. With a lot of effort, this changed over the last three years, with now over 30 projects and 12GW permitted, enough power for 3-5 million homes per year.

To be frank, our current system for wind and solar development on public lands is woefully inefficient for every interested stakeholder—the clean energy industry and the wildlife advocate. It nearly always results in more conflict than necessary.

This bill helps solve these significant barriers to clean energy development and wildlife conservation. It also ensures some of the revenues from development on public lands goes back to impacted communities, particularly through a conservation fund for cumulative impacts to the landscape and sportsmen’s access.

As we embark on a clean energy future, there is a model to avoid. 140 years ago the U.S. Congress passed a law to promote mining and Western expansion, with provisions that hinder wildlife and habitat conservation to this day. For decades, campaigns have worked to fix that mining law.

Let’s not look back 30 years from now with the realization that we made the same policy mistakes in the rush to stop carbon pollution with wind and solar energy on public lands. Instead, let’s put in place now the right framework for efficient, sustainable development of wind and solar energy and help address its impacts with a conservation fund.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/02/public-lands-renewable-energy-development-ac/feed/1Weekly News Roundup-December 07, 2012http://blog.nwf.org/2012/12/weekly-news-roundup-december-07-2012/
http://blog.nwf.org/2012/12/weekly-news-roundup-december-07-2012/#commentsFri, 07 Dec 2012 20:29:42 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=71904Read more >]]>Want to know what National Wildlife Federation was up to this week? Here is a recap of the week’s NWF news:

December 04-Congress should extend critical tax incentives that encourage renewable energy production and energy efficiency, 118 sportsmen’s, business and conservation groups from all over the U.S. urged in a letter to Congress today. The letter, with a list of sponsors, also appears as an ad in Politico today.

“Investment and growth in properly-sited, wildlife-friendly clean energy and conservation are the best ways to combat climate change, sustain communities, create American jobs, and promote economic growth across the country,” they wrote.

The letter asks Congress to continue the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC), tax incentives that will expire this year if Congress does not reauthorize them. The letter is consistent with a September poll of sportsmen that found 72 percent of hunters and anglers back renewable energy solutions.

December 06-Inviting an unprecedented expansion of tar sands pipelines in the U.S. and Canada would commit the countries to decades of doing business with companies that have a long record of disregard for the environment, human health and landowner rights, says a new report. The report release comes just a short time before the Obama Administration is slated to make an historic decision on the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

A tally of the new capacity, over 9,000 miles of pipe, finds the vast majority would be overseen by Canadian pipeline giants TransCanada and Enbridge. The report documents the two companies’ history of bullying landowners, influence peddling, wildlife deaths, oil spills and other bad acts that led the authors to name the report, “Crude Behavior: TransCanada, Enbridge, and the Tar Sand Industry’s Tarnished Legacy.”

While voters in the U.S. just rebuked an unprecedented fossil fuel industry effort to defeat President Barack Obama, who received widespread support from conservationists during his campaign, his administration will face an early test on the direction of its second-term climate and energy policy when it issues a final decision on TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. Defeated challenger Mitt Romney had promised to approve Keystone XL on his first day in office.

“Politicians cannot be serious about addressing extreme weather and slowing global warming if they ignore the pollution, wildlife, and property rights impacts of Keystone XL,” said Joe Mendelson, National Wildlife Federation’s director of climate and energy policy. “The carbon pollution math simply does not add up.”

December 05-Ranger Rick, everyone’s favorite raccoon, is introducing a new, highly interactive magazine app called Ranger Rick’s Tree House. The National Wildlife Federation, publisher of Ranger Rick magazine, and also Ranger Rick’s Tree House, has entertained and educated generations of children about the wonders of animals and nature for 50 years. Like the print magazine, all educational content within the magazine app is aligned to national curriculum standards and meets the fun-factor that Ranger Rick readers have grown to know and love.

December 04-National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is teaming up with Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) and New Line Cinema for the Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The film opens in theaters and IMAX® 3D December 14. As the education partner for the film, the National Wildlife Federation is providing online resources to help students, educators, parents and individuals start their own unexpected journey outdoors and is hosting a sweepstakes for a complimentary private screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The sweepstakes deadline is 11:59 p.m. on December 13. Enter on NWF’s website www.nwf.org/thehobbit

December 06-Up north of the border, past Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, the planet’s biggest carbon bomb is ticking. It’s called the tar sands region, and it represents both incredible feats of industry and incredible hubris —– and potentially the last blow to the fight against global climate change.

Tar sands are sludge. A sticky, viscous, tarry material that literally oozes from the ground in certain areas of northern Canada and other places like Russia, Venezuela, and even right here in the US. Technically called “bitumen,” tar sands can be processed into gasoline and other petroleum products, though it takes more effort and causes a lot more pollution than conventional oil, the liquid we’re used to seeing drilled up by rigs in Texas or Saudi Arabia. The cornerstone of the argument against tar sands is that because it requires so much energy to turn from sludge into gasoline, it produces a significantly greater amount of the carbon dioxide which is turning our atmosphere into a heat-trapping blanket and fundamentally altering nearly every ecosystem on Earth. About 100 trillion gallons of tar sands have been discovered so far, enough to fill 160 million Olympic swimming pools. The vast majority is in Canada, which holds around three quarters of the world total.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2012/12/weekly-news-roundup-december-07-2012/feed/0MI Student Groups Endorse 25% Renewable Energy Standard Ballot Proposalhttp://blog.nwf.org/2012/10/mi-student-groups-endorse-25-renewable-energy-standard-ballot-proposal/
http://blog.nwf.org/2012/10/mi-student-groups-endorse-25-renewable-energy-standard-ballot-proposal/#commentsFri, 26 Oct 2012 16:36:30 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=69405Read more >]]>On November 6, Michigan voters will have the chance to secure more clean energy for our state by voting for Prop 3. This ballot proposal is a unique opportunity for Michigan citizens to increase our state’s renewable energy standard to 25% by the year 2025.

Michigan State MSSC students educating their peers about clean energy and Prop 3

Many students support Prop 3 because of it’s potential to provide us with a healthy and productive future. Here in Michigan, many students and recent graduates are very concerned for our state’s future because of the heavy economic downturn we have been facing. Over the past few years we’ve witnessed large factories shut down and the auto industry collapse, and watched as family members and friends were laid off and faced long-term unemployment. We realize that by increasing our renewable energy mandate we can rebuild Michigan by revitalizing our manufacturing base with clean energy. There are 8,000 parts to a wind turbine, and all of them can be made here in Michigan by Michigan residents. We love our state and many of us want to stay and work here, but we can only do that if we see a way to move forward economically.

If you are interested in supporting Michigan students, or clean energy, please join us for our national day of action on October 30 to support Prop 3. Individuals and organizations from all over the country will be making phone calls to undecided voters in Michigan and educating them about clean energy and Prop 3. Please sign up here to get involved and help support our future, and the future of clean energy for our country.

This is a guest blog post by Chelsea Harnish, Energy Program Manager for Virginia Conservation Network.

The most substantial long-term solution for combating climate change is to power our homes and businesses with renewable energy—namely wind and solar. However, right now, there is a serious threat to the American wind industry and the estimated 75,000 jobs it has created.

A set of tax credits called the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) will expire at the end of this year if Congress does not act to renew them. These two financial incentives are crucial to the success of this industry. We have already begun to see a slowdown in wind growth across the country, including here in Virginia, due to the uncertainty of their renewal.

The PTC provides a 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour income tax credit to developers of utility-scale wind projects for the first 10 years while the ITC allows developers to take an upfront credit for construction costs equal to 30% (a developer cannot take both credits).

Future of Wind Energy Uncertain

In Virginia, a land-based project on Poor Mountain near Roanoke and an offshore wind turbine test site at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay have both been called off, with developers citing financial uncertainty as a main reason.

Right now, we are waiting for the federal government to announce a Lease Sale Notice for developers to install wind turbines in an area 23 miles off Virginia’s coastline. Covering 133 nautical square miles, the lease area could produce 2,000 MW of clean energy. Eight companies have expressed interest in developing projects in that area. However, if the incentives get pulled off the table now, those projects will never come to fruition, meaning the thousands of jobs that could be created right here in Virginia will never materialize. Meanwhile, the climate change-inducing oil and gas industry continues to reap $4 billion in annual tax benefits without any concern of future expiration.

Severe Weather Threatening Virginia

And Virginia has seen its fair share of impacts from climate change. Hampton Roads, second only to New Orleans in terms of vulnerability to sea level rise in the US, is seeing more frequent storm surges and higher tides than ever before. Insurance companies are refusing to insure properties within two miles of the coastline.

Damage done by the derecho that hit Virginia on June 9, 2012. Flickr photo by woodleywonderworks.

In central Virginia, where I live, we are seeing more intense weather patterns: from blizzards in winter, very rare for this temperate climate, to a fast-moving “derecho” that pummeled the region this past June during one of the most intense heat waves on record. The storm, and the one that followed it the very next day, caused the largest non-hurricane power outage in Virginia’s history and the 3rd largest power outage ever behind hurricanes Isabel (2003) and Irene (2011). To use a line from NWF’s extreme weather report released this summer, “severe weather is the new reality of a warming planet.”

We cannot afford to continue down this destructive path. Congress must renew the PTC and ITC during the lame duck session, to not only bolster the wind industry, but to ultimately reduce carbon emissions that are causing the greatest environmental threat to our planet.

Take Action! Contact Your Senators Today

As an NWF affiliate in Virginia, the Virginia Conservation Network is working with the Clean Air Defense Coalition to hold our Virginia congressional leaders accountable on the PTC/ITC extension. We urge you to contact Senators Webb and Warner today to urge them to support this important amendment during the lame duck session.

Chelsea Harnish is the Energy Program Manager for Virginia Conservation Network (VCN). Before joining VCN, Chelsea was the Policy Coordinator for one of our member organizations, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Chelsea and her husband Chris moved to Richmond from Cape Cod, Massachusetts where she spent 4 years advocating for Cape Wind, America’s first proposed offshore wind farm. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of South Carolina and a masters degree in marine science from Boston University.